U.S. President Barack Obama was upbeat at his State of the Union Address, but issued tough challenges to the FCC and Congress, respectively, when it comes to wireless spectrum, oil incentives, and alternative energy. (Source: WhiteHouse.gov)

(Source: WhiteHouse.gov)

On Wednesday, President Obama will visit Wisconsin green energy startup Orion Energy Systems, a provider of energy-efficient lighting and solar-power solutions. The President will also visit two other local businesses. (Source: Orion Energy Systems)

Government hopes to release 500 MHz; but plan relies on TV networks agreeing to auction of their spectrum

After
pounding net neutrality and several less tech-related
issues through the door, U.S. President Barack Obama was back at it during his
annual State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, trying to fulfill yet
another one of his campaign promises.

I. Step Right up to the Wireless Spectrum Auction!

When elected, the President promised to deliver faster wireless networks to
Americans. How he plans on making good on that promise is by freeing up 500 MHz of spectrum, currently
left unused, and selling it to spectrum-hungry wireless network providers like
Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

During his State of the Union Address [video],
he remarked, "Within the next five years, we will make it possible for
business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98%
of all Americans. This isn't just about a faster Internet and fewer dropped
calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age."

The federal government has 380 of the 500 MHz it needs. However, the
other 120 MHz is currently occupied and unused by television networks, which
were gifted it long ago. The administration is trying to set up a special
auction to convince these networks to part with the unused spectrum by letting
them keep a cut of the auction proceeds.

Verizon Wireless general counsel Steve Zipperstein [profile] cheered
the measure, stating to Reuters, "President Obama is helping the
nation to understand the incredible benefits that broadband wireless can bring:
to our business, to healthcare, to productivity and to education.
Wireless innovation requires public policies that foster innovation,
growth and encourage continued investment by Verizon and our partners in the
technology."

Television broadcasters, however, have expressed mixed feelings on the issue.
While they appreciate that the auction will give them funds and that it's
voluntary, they are reticent to part with the unused spectrum, partly because
they accuse wireless networks of sitting on unused spectrum they previously
purchased. States Dennis Wharton [profile], a spokesman for the National Association of
Broadcasters to Reuters, "We would encourage Congress to
immediately pass spectrum inventory legislation that fully identifies airwaves
that are not being used."

Clearly, as with the net neutrality issue, President Obama has his work cut out
for him. But at the very least, he can urge Federal Communications
Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski [profile] to open
up the 380 MHz reserve as soon as possible, even if he can't convince TV
providers to willingly sell their unused spectrum.

II. Hitting the Road for Alternative Energy

Life isn't always easy if you're the president of the world's richest nation.
Not ready to call it a night just yet, hours after giving his address
President Obama hopped a late night flight to Wisconsin. There he plans
to today plug his five "pillar" vision, which calls
for: innovation, education, infrastructure, deficit reduction and
government reform.

The visit is largely focused on the innovation and infrastructure pillars, and
specifically, his objectives concerning alternative energy. During his
speech last night, the President urged Congress to act swiftly to eliminate
incentives to oil companies who import oil from unstable foreign sources (e.g.
Venezuela and the Middle East).

During the speech President Obama stated, "I don't know if you’ve noticed,
but [the oil companies are] doing just fine on their own. So instead of
subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow's."

President Obama hopes to walk a narrow tightrope of investing massively in
alternative energy, but avoiding increasing the spending deficit. Key to
that plan is scaling back military efforts overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan,
refocusing that funding on the home front.

By 2035, the President wants 80 percent of America's energy to come from
alternative sources like modern nuclear fission, solar power, wind power,
geothermal power, biofuel (algae, switchgrass, etc.), tidal power, and
hydroelectric power. Congress has yet to authorize that lofty goal or
discuss what kind of government funding might be necessary to help achieve it.
Meanwhile China and the EU have pledged
over a trillion dollars over the next two decades to clean
energy projects, threatening to leave the U.S. far behind [1] [2]
[3] [4].

On Wednesday, the President will visit [press
release] Wisconsin's Orion Energy Systems,
a manufacturing company in Manitowoc, that designs energy efficient lighting
and solar power solutions, which it sells domestically.

The President's visit to Manitowoc will be a first for a sitting U.S.
President. Orion Energy Systems CEO and President Neil Verfuerth, cheers
the President's decision and the chance to show off the success his
"green" firm has enjoyed. It comes at a time when the
energy-efficient lighting industry is reeling from a disappointing study
released by the Californian state government, which showed compact fluorescent
lamps burning out quicker that expected and saving
less energy.

Two other domestic firms in Manitowoc will also receive a visit from the
President on Wednesday. He will travel to Skana Aluminum Company, a revived domestic
manufacturer who received a $650,000 state grant to employ 110 people and
resume manufacturing. He will also visit Tower Tech Systems, a wind turbine manufacturer.

Despite the fact that his constituents are eagerly awaiting the President's
visit and support, new Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R) [homepage] seized the opportunity to attack the
President in a Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal column.
He writes:

Washington's agenda has put a stranglehold on
our economy. The pitiful result of the stimulus package is proof that growing
government does not grow our economy. We need a thriving private sector to do
that. We need to encourage and incentivize entrepreneurs, not tax and regulate
them to death.

What America has accomplished over its short history is truly remarkable.
America is exceptional -- it is precious. And we are bankrupting it. Americans
hunger for leadership. They want leaders who understand that the only way to
set America's economy back on the right path is to promote freedom, protect the
free market system and respect our founders' vision of limited government.

The call for a limited government will please many, but when China and the EU
are racing ahead on the heels of massive high-tech investment in clean energy
and high-speed rail, one must wonder if the economic
wind is shifting when it comes to massive infrastructure projects. And
many forget that the U.S.'s greatest technological innovations historically --
the railroad system and the telephone network, came on the heels of what would
now amount to billions, if not trillions of dollars in land, tax breaks, and
subsidies.

“And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it’s superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say?” -- Bill Gates on the Mac ads